Florida bank profits outpace U.S.

Profits rose modestly during the third quarter in Florida’s banking industry. The state’s 109 banks and thrifts earned a combined $541 million in the July-September period, up 3.7% from the $521 million profit one year earlier, according to data released last week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But that was better than the scant 1.8% annual increase in the second quarter, when the state-based banks reported $507 million in earnings. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Florida Cabinet chooses new financial regulator

Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the state Cabinet on Monday named a Coral Gables securities lawyer to become Florida’s third top financial regulator in less than two years. In a conference call lasting just over a minute, DeSantis recommended Russell Weigel for the job with a $166,000-a-year salary. DeSantis was backed by state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried abstained. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel.

Nominate a Florida nonprofit: #FloridaGives campaign to award five entrants $10,000 donation

The #FloridaGives social media campaign will award five entrants a $10,000 donation to the Florida charity of their choice from the Florida Blue Foundation, while bringing needed awareness to many of Florida's charities. Anybody can nominate a Florida 501 (c)(3) nonprofit now until midnight Friday on the campaign website. The #FloridaGives campaign joins the Giving Tuesday movement that kicks off the giving season. [Source: Action News Jax]

Space Coast has once-in-a-generation opportunity to support new type of commercial space business

Fifty years ago, an exceptional generation of men and women helped launch Americans into space and land NASA astronauts on the Moon. Today, the next generation of space travel is increasing the launch tempo on Florida’s Space Coast and creating new business opportunities for launch support services that have not been seen before. [Source: Space Coast Daily]

Florida economy: Education and tourism are key drivers for Florida

More than half of the Florida Influencers this year said vocational education is a top accomplishment of the Legislature when it comes to spurring job growth and boosting the state’s economy. The issue Influencers ranked as second-most important to the state economy was the continued funding of Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing arm. It will be funded for one more year, with just two-thirds of its previous budget. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Jacksonville celebrity chef abruptly closes last Northeast Florida restaurant [Florida Times-Union]
Jacksonville celebrity chef and restaurateur Kenny Gilbert abruptly closed his Fernandina Beach restaurant Sunday — just weeks after shutting down his Jacksonville eatery. Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen opened in 2015. The restaurant’s website described it as “a unique neighborhood-driven Deep Southern American restaurant.

› Florida sues Planet Hollywood, claiming it failed to follow through on Orlando jobs [Orlando Sentinel]
The state has filed a lawsuit against Planet Hollywood International Inc., alleging the company did not comply with requirements after receiving $288,000 in state incentives to add jobs in Orlando. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity filed the lawsuit last month in Leon Circuit Court, arguing, in part, that the restaurant and hotel company breached a contract with the state.

› Want a tech job in South Florida? You’re going need a very specific set of skills [Miami Herald]
South Florida businesses are hungry for tech talent—but you’re going to need the right type of experience to land the job, according to the latest annual survey from ITPalooza, the region’s largest tech hiring event. The annual poll finds just 56% of firms surveyed said they intend to hire in the coming year or are considering it, down from 91% last year.

› ‘Florida cold’ closes water parks this week [WFLA]
This spell of “Florida cold” is closing water parks on certain dates this week. Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando is closed Monday and Tuesday due to weather, according to the park’s Twitter account. For updates on when the park will reopen, guests can call 407-817-8317.

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› Orlando's robust convention season is about to get even hotter [Biz Journals]
As we head toward the end of 2019, Central Florida's convention and trade show industry is heating up. And it's expected to only get hotter as we enter 2020. In fact, "the first six months of the year tend to be the busiest," said David Ingram, acting executive director of the Orange County Convention Center — the second-largest convention center in North America.

› Sarasota-Manatee gas prices poised to decline after 10-cent hike [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Gas prices jumped early last week in Southwest Florida but have held steady in recent days. Pump prices are now poised to retreat after oil prices prices dropped on Black Friday, according to AAA. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice market was $2.41 on Monday, AAA reported, up 10 cents from last week.

› New higher-speed Florida train has highest U.S. death rate [AP]
The first death involving a Brightline train, which officially launched in January 2018, happened in July 2017 during test runs. Since then, 40 more have been killed — a rate of more than one a month and about one for every 29,000 miles the trains have traveled.

› T-Mobile bringing first 5G coverage to South Florida. But it’s not what we’ve been waiting for. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
On Dec. 6, T-Mobile will earn bragging rights as the first wireless carrier to offer 5G network coverage to the South Florida metro area, along with hundreds of other cities across the nation. With a flip of a switch, the carrier says 5G coverage will be available to 60 percent of the U.S. population. That’s 200 million consumers in more than 5,000 cities. But consumers shouldn’t get too excited just yet.